The September 25th price drop of Nintendo GameCube to an MSRP of $139.95 (CAN), continues to have a massive ripple effect throughout the Canadian video game industry. Nintendo of Canada has taken the lead heading into the holiday season. For the first time in almost 2 years, Sony PlayStation 2 has been knocked off the leadership throne in the Canadian video game hardware industry. Nintendo of Canada has the two top-selling systems for the month of October with the #1 selling Game Boy Advance and the #2 selling Nintendo GameCube.
Together, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube accounted for almost 60 per cent of all hardware systems sold in Canada. In the much publicized console wars, it was Nintendo GameCube that won the battle. Nintendo GameCube captured 43 per cent leadership share of the console market in October. Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft X-box trailed with 34 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
Overall in 2003, Nintendo dollar sales are up 37 per cent versus 2002, compared to an industry increase of 14 per cent for the same period. In October, the industry declined 2 per cent versus last year, but Nintendo sales were up 48 per cent compared to a decline of 25 per cent for Sony and a 1 per cent increase for Microsoft.
“This has been a great year for Nintendo of Canada”, says Ron Bertram, general manager, Nintendo of Canada. “We are very thankful to our Canadian consumers and retailers for their support this year. We have great momentum right now and we intend to keep it going well beyond the holiday season”.
Fans of The Legend of Zelda series recently received an early holiday present from Nintendo – the release of a must-have disc that includes four playable classic Zelda games and additional bonus materials. Nintendo is currently offering The Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition Disc packaged with the Nintendo GameCube at the low price of just $139.95 (MSRP).
Nintendo’s holiday lineup also includes a strong series of games: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Super Mario Advance 4, Mario Party 5, 1080º: Avalanche, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the season’s expected monster seller. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! raises the bar for competitive game play by letting players choose their karts and two characters – one to drive, one to toss weapons or swipe them from other players. The pair can even switch places during the race to maximize strategy. The game is rated E (Everyone) and is available at an MSRP of $69.95.
More than 320 games for the Nintendo GameCube and 550 games for the Game Boy Advance will be available by the end of the year.
As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Canada Ltd., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a leader and innovator in the $1 billion video game industry in Canada. Nintendo of Canada markets hardware and software for Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, and Nintendo GameCube. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion video games globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. Nintendo is dedicated to the long-term development of the interactive entertainment industry, devoting its resources towards maximizing the latest technology to create the most innovative, interactive entertainment products in the world.